1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD), and more particularly, to a housing assembly of an LCD.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional LCD includes a liquid crystal panel 10, a fluorescent lamp 11, a U-shaped lamp housing 12 enclosing the fluorescent lamp 11, a light diffusing sheet 13, which is attached to one surface of the liquid crystal panel, a first prism 14, a second prism 15, a protecting sheet 18, a light guide 16, a light reflecting sheet 17, a first frame 21 holding the components in place, and the display area 19. The display 19 includes two transparent substrates facing each other and having polarizing plates on their outer surfaces, and liquid crystal injected between the two transparent substrates. The LCD further includes a driving circuit 20 that operates the display area. As shown in FIG. 2, the first frame 21 is enclosed within a second frame 22.
The LCD is driven as described below. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the light guide 16. As shown in FIG. 3, one side of the light guide 16 is thicker than an opposite side of the light guide 16. The fluorescent lamp 11 is fastened to the thicker side of the light guide 16. When the fluorescent lamp 11 is turned on, light 23 is reflected from the lamp housing 12 and is directed towards the light guide 16 and to a portion of the light guide 16 further from the fluorescent lamp 11 that is not in contact with the fluorescent lamp 11. Accordingly, the light 23 spreads throughout the light guide 16 and reaches the display area 19 (FIG. 1) by the light diffusing sheet 13. Thin film transistors formed on the liquid crystal panel control pixels based on signals from the driving circuit 20, as shown in FIG. 1, which results in the selective transmittance of the light 23. A group of pixels transmits the light 23 and forms an image on the display area of the LCD.
Electromagnetic waves and static electricity produced by a current supplied to the fluorescent lamp 11 often cause malfunction of the LCD. To prevent the formation of current and static electricity, a grounding plate is attached to the lamp housing 12. The grounding plate is formed in contact with the first and the second frames 21 and 22. Connection of the grounding plate to the first and second frames 21 and 22 is accomplished through a screw-hole 33 formed in the first frame 21. The grounding plate is screwed to the first frame 21 through the screw-hole 33. As a result, the electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic field formed by the current supplied to the fluorescent lamp 11 are grounded through the grounding plate attached to the lamp housing 12.
As shown in FIG. 4A illustrating a plan view, the grounding plate of the conventional LCD is placed at a corner of a front surface of a frame 32. In addition, a screw 31 is used to fix the grounding plate 30 as shown in FIG. 4B illustrating a side view. Therefore, the thickness of the conventional LCD is as thick as the length of the screw. Furthermore, the display area of the LCD is reduced because the screw-hole 33 is formed in the front surface of the LCD for fixing the grounding plate.